Agile Transformation — Initial challenges and mitigations…
Recently, most of the organizations are transforming towards Agility and adapting Agile way of working. They are no longer preferring the traditional waterfall model for delivery and are inclined towards an iterative approach.
In this article, I will try to capture some very basics challenges which are faced by the organizations during the mindset shift. Moreover, I will also try to capture some tips on how to overcome them.
First, let’s have a look on the challenges:
- “Doing Agile” mindset over “Being Agile”: Few organizations believe that they are Agile just by introducing respective roles and ceremonies. However, they don’t believe it’s a mindset shift, which is crucial for this transformation. Doing things as per the theory or following the textbook doesn’t mean it is sufficient and is the right way of doing it. The fun part is, after performing incorrect way of working, the companies expect return, and when they don’t get, they complain Agile is of no use.
- Agile Gives instant Benefit: Rome was not built in a day, hence expecting change in a week or two and immediate results is totally unacceptable. Agile does give benefits in the long run, but expecting a short-term improvement is something which creates restlessness and impatience.
- Agile is a silver bullet: One thing cannot be an answer to every problem. Similarly, if there are expectations that Agile is an answer to all the organizational issues and failures, it is completely wrong and results in dissatisfaction at a later stage. There is no thumb rule which can be considered as generic and applied on all the teams. It’s a methodology which is different for different teams and depends on the kind of product, situation, and expectations. Companies undergoing transformation with this expectation without proper understanding are bound to get disappointed.
- Agile only relates to Software Industry: There is a myth which is believed that Agile is suitable only for software industries. This sometimes refrains the organizations to adopt it. Even though few companies take the initiative, they are demotivated when they compare it with the IT industry.
- Lack of Acceptance: Usually, Customer’s/Stakeholder’s are reluctant to adapt to new way of working. Moreover, orthodox approach of senior or experienced team members and unacceptance from the leadership for the change acts as showstoppers for transformation. There are numerous examples of my personal experiences where I had a hard time explaining the importance of this change not only to higher management, but also to my business counterparts. The most common argument stated that things have been from a long time and this is how it is done from several years. The companies fail to understand that if they are looking for improved value delivery, improved customer satisfaction and higher team motivation, they might have to do something which has never been done in the past.
- Lack of relevant tools and infrastructure is one of the factors which creates lots of challenges. I have seen companies rushing to the transformation, without spending time on preparation.
- Start with Scaling: Assuming the need to scale from day one and having a clear structure on how to scale eats empiricism and leaves no room for experiments. Companies take big steps and don’t start small. Instead of doing a pilot run or starting with a specific product family, they try to initiate an organizational level change.
Complacency is also one of the reasons why organizations fail on changes. Some of the reasons of complacency are:
- No signs of visible crisis.
- Working in an environment which still reflects glories of the past and not the current realities.
- Manipulation of metrices, KPIs, etc. by the employees and managers.
Now, let’s have a look on some tips to overcome the above blockers:
- Stay Flexible:
One of the Agile principles talks about how we should be open to change, in comparison to sticking to a plan. Agility is all about saying yes to change.
- Keep it clear & documented:
A clear, crisp, and concise documentation helps everyone. The idea here is make processes easy and understandable, and not to make them complex and overburdened. The process should not act as a showstopper and an add-on task.
- Emphasize on proper Coaching:
Training or coaching forms the base of a learning. A company must invest in sufficient trainings, preferably with instructor-led ones. Weekly workshops with dedicated case studies help everyone develop the analytical skills. In addition to this, the company might have to invest by hiring industry experts to lead/facilitate the change.
- Identifying and using right tools:
Introduction and proper usage of right tools like JIRA, Rally, ServiceNow, etc. can help streamline the implementation process. Moreover, it creates transparency not only for the team, but also for the leadership.
- Be prepared for failures:
Implementing Agile doesn’t mean that success is guaranteed in a short span of time. Everyone must understand, it is not a magic wand. The team will progress through the 5 stages of Tuckman, namely “Forming”, “Storming”, “Norming”, “Performing” and “Adjourning”. There might be situations where the team might not be able to deliver the sprint goal or the necessary business value. But the important thing will be to retrospect and learn from the failures. This will help everyone inspect & adapt and improve over a period.
- Facilitation and not dictation:
Agile doesn’t believe in Command-&-Control. It’s all about introducing Servant-Leadership and creating Self-Managing teams. Introduction of T-shape skills, Pairing/Mobbing practices and letting team talk to the customers are some of the ways of making them confident and self-dependable.
- Leading by example: There is no single leader or a superhero in the Agile team. Everyone leads by example, everyone respects the chain of command, everyone listens and respects each other and most important, everyone takes responsibility. This creates a culture in the team.
- Creating a Guiding Coalition: Often, changes in an organization get support of only a few people and resources. To progress and attain successful change, wider support is essential. Generally, a coalition is formed to guide the change in the organization. This coalition usually comprises of CEO/Leadership, and his/her team of Senior Managers, Managers and other employees. It is highly important that this coalition is powerful in terms of titles, information, expertise, reputations and relationships to guide and promote the change in the organization.
- Developing a vision and Strategy:
In continuation to the above point, the coalition will need a vision or a clear picture of the future. The vision will provide the direction in which the organization needs to move. Hence it is called as change vision.
- Communicating the vision: Once the vision is ready, it is of utmost importance to communicate it to the people in the organization. The communication should be clear, concise, simple, and not involving any jargon. There should be no room for ambiguity and it should clearly communicate the “WHY” behind it. If required, and whenever appropriate, use of metaphors, analogies and examples can be done. The vision can be communicated via multiple channels by the coalition.
- People empowerment:
To ensure full support of the employees and managers, the guiding coalition needs to empower people to act. In addition to the communication, the obstacles/impediments to the change should also be resolved/removed.
- Celebrating small wins and failures:
Last but not the least, recognizing, appreciating, and celebrating small successes or failures is of high importance. It plays a crucial role in team motivation and encourages everyone to give their best. Moreover, failures help us to retrospect and identify our areas of improvement.
I am sure there are lots of other challenges which are faced by the organization and the employees during the transformation journey. I would love to hear your feedback and inputs 😊
My next article will be on Introduction to Scrum. Stay tuned 😊
